Himalayas affected by global warming: study
PTI

         BEIJING: The snow on the Mount Everest, at the heart of Himalayas, is melting fast due to global warming which in turn is posing a threat to the Asian rivers, including those in India, a new study carried out by Chinese, French and American researchers said.

         Chinese scientists managed to drill three ice cores into the snow at the summit of the East Rongbuk glacier covering the northern collar of Mount Everest, with an altitude of 6,518 meters in 2000 and 2002.

          The analysis of these ice cores led to the discovery of the existence of a new climatic indicator, the content of gas in the ice, and therefore it was possible to retrace the evolution of summer temperatures at the site with such a high altitude.

          By accurately measuring the gas content of the two of the three cores, the researchers learnt about its evolution going back 2,000 years and they were able to observe a very profound reduction in the amount of gas trapped in the 20th century snow compared with the oldest snow at the site.

          These results noted a recent escalation in the melting of snow during summer on the surface of the glacier.

         This research clearly indicates that climatic warming has also affected the permanent snow on the roof of the world, the researchers said.

         Chinese researchers have already warned that fast thawing of glaciers on the Himalayas may trigger floods in major rivers originating from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

          In the past three decades, the glaciers have shrunk by 131.4 square kilometres annually which means an area of glacier equivalent to twice the size of the Beijing downtown area disappears, a report from the China Geological Survey Bureau said on January.

          A further 13,000 square kilometres of glacier, nearly 28 per cent of the total glacier area and equivalent to twice the area of Shanghai Municipality, will disappear by 2050 if no protective measures are taken, the report said.

           Over the past two weeks, the frozen sections of the Yellow River melted as temperatures rose in north China.

          Temperatures are about one to two degrees Celsius higher than the annual average in the area, the official said, adding this year's thawing date came 21 days earlier than last year.

           He said thawed waterways of the Yellow River have seen a slightly descending water level and no ice-jam or ice flooding has occurred, Xinhua news agency reported.

           China recorded the warmest year in 2006 since 1951 and over the past decades the most evident temperature rises occurred in Inner Mongolia, according to China Meteorological Bureau.

           The 5,464 km Yellow River originates in Qinghai Province and flows through Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan, before passing through Shandong and emptying into Bohai Bay.

* Source: Daily News and Analysis, dated - Friday, February 23, 2007.*